Whigs Mull Video, Tour

MTV News
Dial-a-Decade retro moves don’t come much more straightforward than the title of the Afghan Whigs new album, “1965,” the follow-up to the band’s 1996 record, “Black Love,” and its first as part of a new deal with Columbia Records.
“1965” was recorded mostly by frontman Gregg Dulli in New Orleans, so you can imagine some of the wild times had during the making of the album. Alex Chilton, former leader of the seminal ’70s alternative group Big Star, puts in a rare guest appearance on one track, and the sessions were apparently so festive that during last winter’s Mardis Gras, one of the Whigs got so happy he wound up spending a night in jail.

But now that the album is out, the Whigs are trying to decide whether or not to make a video for the first single from “1965,” “Something Hot.”

“We’re talking about doing one,” Dulli told MTV News, “[but] I just don’t know. I don’t know what that climate is like now. I don’t know if you’re just pissing your money away on a shot or if you should try to get it on the radio first. It’s a whole new game now.”

“I would hope [we’d do a video],” he concluded, “but if it doesn’t make fiscal sense, I would probably say I’d rather use that money to go towards touring or something that’s actually worth it.” [28.8 RealVideo]

The Whigs will kick-off a tour in support of “1965” with a performance on November 4 in New York City as part of this year’s CMJ Music Festival.